FIRST

The Femoroacetabular Impingement RandomiSed controlled Trial

FIRST is a multi-centre, randomized controlled trial with a primary objective to assess whether surgical correction of the impingement morphology (arthroscopic osteochondroplasty) with/without labral repair provides decreased pain at 12 months compared to arthroscopic lavage of the hip joint in adults aged 18 to 50 diagnosed with FAI.

Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is a recently described condition that is believed to be associated with hip pain among young adults. Some cross-sectional studies have estimated that the prevalence of hip impingement ranges from 14-17% among asymptomatic young adults to almost 95% among competitive athletes.

Surgical intervention on FAI usually involves correcting the existing deformities by reshaping the ball and socket (“osteoplasty” or “rim trimming”) so that they fit together more easily while repairing any other existing soft tissue damage in the hip joint (e.g. labral repair). FAI was managed with open surgical techniques (surgical hip dislocation) until the evolution of keyhole or arthroscopic surgical techniques. The arthroscopic approach has become increasingly popular due to its minimally invasive technology.

The FICEBO investigators are proud to be part of this large international collaboration addressing true efficacy of the FAI surgery. The FIRST investigators will conduct a two-arm, blinded randomized controlled trial comparing arthroscopic lavage versus osteochondroplasty on FAI pain, function, and quality of life up to one year in patients across sites in Canada, Denmark, and Finland.

PUBLICATIONS

We published a protocol of this trial in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders entitled “A multi-centre randomized controlled trial comparing arthroscopic osteochondroplasty and lavage with arthroscopic lavage alone on patient important outcomes and quality of life in the treatment of young adult (18–50) femoroacetabular impingement.”